Remembering Camp

Tomorrow, Second Born Son makes his first foray into overnight camping. He is excited and packed. Prepared and eager. I’m so happy for him, because I know what lies ahead for him; fun, friends, laughs and memory making moments. It was at camp that I learned about Mean Girls – not such a great memory, I realize. It was at camp that I picked up my first camera, my father’s Brownie – a much happier memory.

I got my first glimpse of boys trying to impress girls and girls flirting with boys. While it was a church camp, the message was handled in a light and meaningful way. I remember admiring the camp counsellors and thinking how mature and sophisticated they were. Now I realize they were lucky to be 20. How much do we know at 20? Infinitely more than at 12!

I remember the mess hall and how our names would be called out to receive our mail. If you received three letters, you had to sing for your third correspondence. I remember cleaning my first bathroom at came (as if that wasn’t traumatizing enough), and learning that bleach is the ONLY way to get dishes truly clean.

There was the nightly campfire with each group taking turns entertaining the rest of the campers. Learning that you could only order so much candy from the tuck shop. Realizing that while leeches are disgusting, they are far from fatal.

I loved it so much, I went a second year.

SBS’s week will be a little different. He is going on a canoe adventure. He is taking is going with one of his best friends. They will leave the main camp and strike out on the Saugeen River.